Real Techniques PowderBleu Collection

How sexy is the new Real Techniques PowderBleu Collection? It even sounds sexy! It evokes images of old school beauty dressers with giant puffs of powder, Erno Laszlo skincare and perfume puffer bottles; it’s got that vampy, boudoir vibe – who knew makeup brushes could come with their own atmosphere? The Real Techniques PowderBleu Collection has been created with the sole intention of providing the perfect brushes for the application of powder, and it consists of six individual products, all of which come with a primary use and a secondary, suggested use.

The Soft Powder Brush (B01 – £22 here – link) is a big, fluffy, domed brush designed for use with bronzers and highlighters (although I’m not sure how it would work with the latter as it’s quite a biggy!) but can also be used to apply loose powder foundation. I’ve used this to apply a fine layer of powder to set my make-up, as I find it’s so soft that it doesn’t disturb any of the make-up underneath, whilst still giving an even layer of powder. The Soft Finishing Brush (B02 – £22 here – link) is a smaller version of the Soft Powder Brush, with a more tapered, almost diamond-shaped head. It’s designed for powder blush and powder highlighter, but can also be used for applying a light layer of contour in the cheek hollows, so especially handy for those of us who are still a bit unsure with contouring.

The Soft Complexion Brush (B03 – £22 – link) is a denser-headed, almost flat-topped brush that blends and buffs powder foundation into skin, and it’s especially good for building coverage. You can use it to buff anything in really, even liquid, although it works best with powder products and is handy for buffing out blusher/bronzer lines. So far, the only eye shadow brush is the Soft Shadow Brush (B04 – £15 – link) which is very soft and very gentle, so great for layering up looks or just applying a wash off colour over the entire lid. It’s also small enough to provide a light application of highlighter and can be used for contouring too.

The Soft Kabuki Brush (B05 – £25 – link) is the one I haven’t tried yet, but it’s very soft, very dense and looks ever-so-pretty sat upon the dressing table. It’s designed to buff and blend finishing products such as bronzer, highlighter and contour and works to bring everything together, diffusing any lines and blending everything out. Finally, the Plush Powder Puff (£12 – link) has actually got a lot more use than I expected as it’s lovely and soft and places just the right amount of powder perfectly. If you’re only looking to buy one brush, I’d recommend starting with either the Soft Finishing Brush or the Soft Shadow Brush as both can be used for quite a few different tasks. The whole PowderBleu range is available from Boots now.